The present invention relates to a children's drinking vessel that is primarily for use in a vehicle, so that a child user may drink liquid contents from the vessel through a flexible straw without the vessel being tipped and spilling liquid contained in the vessel during movement of the vehicle.
The drinking of liquids from a cup or container by children in a moving vehicle has always been somewhat of a hazard, since children have a tendency to spill the contents of the container while the vehicle is in motion, and on occasion when the vehicle encounters bumps or ruts in the road over which the vehicle is traveling, the tendency for spilling the contents of the liquid as held by the child riding in the vehicle increases. Some attempts have been made to solve the problem by providing the container with a cap or a lid through which a straw is inserted. Having a cap or lid on a container does tend to reduce the tendency to spill the liquid therefrom, although tipping of the container or actually dropping it on the floor of the vehicle still occurs due to the very nature of the manner in which young chidren handle cups and containers in moving vehicles.
Some efforts have also been made to provide special kinds of containers having permanent straws inserted therein, although such articles have never actually solved the problem that is inherent in the handling of a container by a child in a moving vehicle. Other kinds of special containers have also been used for aiding in drinking therefrom, but have not found favor in the trade. The most pertinent prior art known to applicant and that pertain to the invention embodied herein, are ALLEN U.S. Pat. No. 2,432,132; SCHWARTZ, No. 3,172,561; ROGERS, No. 3,406,868; SWEET et al No. 3,445,033; LEEDS, No. 3,558,033; HOMORODEAN, Jr., et al No. 3,606,156; WALSH No. 4,252,256; and HOLLOWAY No. 4,428,490. As will be evident from a study of these patents, none of the disclosures as illustrated therein either show or suggest the concept of avoiding the spilling of liquid from a container in a moving vehicle as solved by applicant in the subject invention, as will be hereinafter described.